THE WEEK; Billboard Issue Catches Eye Of Attorney General's Office

By JENNIFER WEISS

Published: July 23, 2006

First, Steve Lonegan, the mayor of Bogota, expressed his contempt for a McDonald's billboard in his Bergen County town. Now he has expressed his contempt for the interest of the state attorney general's office in the matter.

The Civil Rights Division of the attorney general's office, which handles discrimination complaints in areas like employment and housing, asked to see a letter that Mr. Lonegan sent to McDonald's on July 12. The letter, which the Democratic-controlled borough council endorsed by a 4-2 vote, asks that the billboard, a Spanish-language advertisement for iced coffee, be replaced ''with an American version.''

''We wanted a copy so we could have firsthand information about what the town was seeking,'' said Jeff Lamm, a spokesman for the office. He said the office was taking no action except to monitor the situation.

Mr. Lonegan responded to the request by drafting another letter, this one to the attorney general, Zulima V. Farber, questioning the use of state resources to look into his correspondence with a private company.

''Could your inquiry be connected to your strong and very public concern over the rights of illegal aliens?'' Mr. Lonegan wrote, following up with a mention of a continuing investigation into Ms. Farber's role in a May 26 traffic stop involving her companion, whose tickets were rescinded by the police after Ms. Farber arrived on the scene. JENNIFER WEISS